The Medium

The Intel Core i9-14900K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination delivers exceptional performance in The Medium, ranking 6th out of 2,911 tested combos. This places the system in the top 0.2% of all configurations, with benchmark results indicating that the pairing is more than capable of handling the game's demands across all resolution and settings tiers. The data shows a clear performance hierarchy, with the RTX 5090 D providing massive headroom at lower settings, while the i9-14900K ensures consistent frame pacing even at 4K Ultra.

FAQ

*Q: What is the overall performance ranking of this combo in The Medium?*

A: The combo ranks 6th out of 2,911 tested combinations, placing it in the 99.8th percentile of all systems tested for this game. This indicates that there are only 5 other configurations in the database that deliver higher average frame rates.

Q: How does the Intel Core i9-14900K compare to its closest rivals in synthetic benchmarks?

A: The i9-14900K's average benchmark score is 79,097, which is 0.3% lower than the Intel Core i9-14900KF (79,371) and 0.6% lower than the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus (79,574). It outperforms the AMD EPYC 7413 by 1.2% (80,041 vs. 79,097) and the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 by 1.7% (77,740 vs. 79,097).

Q: What is the frame rate difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1080p?

A: At 1920x1080, the average frame rate drops from 196 FPS on Low to 82 FPS on Ultra, representing a 58.2% decrease. The Medium preset delivers 144 FPS, while High achieves 103 FPS, showing a steep scaling curve as visual fidelity increases.

Q: Is the RTX 5090 D significantly faster than its nearest rivals in GPU benchmarks?

A: The RTX 5090 D's average benchmark score is 77,712. It is 1.1% faster than the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT (76,904) but 1.6% slower than the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT (78,940) and 2.1% slower than the NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB (79,396).

Q: What is the minimum frame rate for the Medium preset at 1440p?

A: At 2560x1440 with Medium settings, the minimum frame rate is 103 FPS, with an average of 122 FPS and a maximum of 140 FPS. The minimum frame rate represents a 15.6% drop from the average, indicating consistent performance without major stutters.

Q: How does the CPU's single-threaded performance compare to its multi-threaded results?

A: In Cinebench R23, the i9-14900K scores 2,262.5 in single-core and 39,399.5 in multi-core, representing a 17.4x scaling factor. The Geekbench results show a similar pattern with 2,655 single-core and 21,697 multi-core scores.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K serves as the computational backbone of this configuration, featuring 24 cores and 32 threads based on the Raptor Lake architecture. With a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, the processor is designed for high-frequency workloads, which translates directly into the frame rate consistency observed in The Medium. The CPU's cache hierarchy, including 80 KB of L1 per core, 2 MB of L2 per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache, provides ample storage for game state data, reducing latency during scene transitions.

Benchmark results indicate that the i9-14900K is a top-tier performer, with a 95th percentile ranking against all CPUs. Its Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 39,399.5 and single-core score of 2,262.5 demonstrate balanced performance that benefits both heavily threaded game logic and single-threaded rendering tasks. In Passmark tests, the CPU achieves 58,674 in multithread and 4,697 in single-thread, with particularly strong results in integer math (210,622) and floating-point math (152,975), which are relevant to physics calculations in horror games.

The processor's performance relative to its nearest rivals shows that the standard i9-14900K is nearly identical to the KF variant (0.3% slower), making the integrated UHD Graphics 770 the only differentiating feature. The 10 nm process node and 125W TDP classification indicate efficient power delivery for sustained loads, while the unlocked multiplier allows for overclocking potential. In The Medium, the CPU's role is evident in the low variance between minimum and average FPS at Medium settings across all resolutions, with the 1440p Medium preset showing a 103 FPS minimum versus a 122 FPS average.

How This Combo Ranks

The combination of the i9-14900K and RTX 5090 D achieves a rank of 6 out of 2,911 tested combos in The Medium, placing it in the elite tier of gaming systems. This ranking is particularly notable given that the GPU's average benchmark score of 77,712 is only in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, suggesting that the CPU's 95th percentile ranking helps boost the overall gaming performance. The top 5 combos ahead of this pairing likely benefit from either more specialized hardware configurations or higher-clocked memory subsystems, but the data shows that this combo delivers frame rates that exceed the refresh rates of most displays.

At 1080p, the combo achieves 196 FPS on Low settings, which is 2.4x the frame rate of the 82 FPS Ultra result. This wide spread indicates that the system is not bottlenecked at lower resolutions, as the CPU can feed frames to the GPU efficiently. The 1440p results show a similar pattern with 186 FPS on Low and 69 FPS on Ultra. At 4K, the gap narrows slightly with 153 FPS on Low and 54 FPS on Ultra, suggesting that the GPU becomes more of a limiting factor at higher resolutions.

The rank of 6th out of 2,911 combos translates to a top 0.2% position, which means that 99.8% of all tested systems deliver lower average frame rates in this game. This is a remarkable achievement for a configuration that pairs a 14th-generation Intel processor with a 50-series NVIDIA GPU, and it validates the high-end positioning of both components.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for this combo reveals distinct scaling patterns across resolutions and settings. At 1920x1080, the Low preset delivers an average of 196 FPS, which drops to 144 FPS at Medium, 103 FPS at High, and 82 FPS at Ultra. The Medium preset at 1080p shows a minimum of 123 FPS and maximum of 166 FPS, indicating a 25.9% variance between the lowest and average frame rates. This suggests that the system maintains smooth gameplay even during intense scenes, with the CPU providing consistent frame delivery.

Moving to 2560x1440, the average frame rates decrease by 5.1% for Low (186 FPS), 15.3% for Medium (122 FPS), 15.5% for High (87 FPS), and 15.9% for Ultra (69 FPS) compared to 1080p. The Medium preset at 1440p has a minimum of 103 FPS and maximum of 140 FPS, with the minimum representing an 84.4% of the average. This indicates that the system can handle 1440p gaming with high refresh rates on Medium settings, making it suitable for competitive play.

At 3840x2160, the performance scales further downward: Low achieves 153 FPS, Medium 95 FPS, High 68 FPS, and Ultra 54 FPS. The 4K Medium preset shows a minimum of 81 FPS and maximum of 110 FPS, with the minimum being 85.3% of the average. The Ultra preset at 4K delivers 54 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold for smooth gameplay, indicating that users may need to adjust settings for a locked 60 FPS experience. The scaling from 1080p to 4K shows a 21.9% decrease in average FPS for Low settings (196 to 153 FPS), a 34.0% decrease for Medium (144 to 95 FPS), a 34.0% decrease for High (103 to 68 FPS), and a 34.1% decrease for Ultra (82 to 54 FPS).

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D is the primary driver of graphical performance in The Medium, featuring 32 GB of GDDR7 memory on a 512-bit bus with 1.79 TB/s of bandwidth. This massive memory pool ensures that the game's high-resolution textures and effects can be loaded without stuttering, even at 4K Ultra settings. The GPU's boost clock of 2407 MHz and 2017 MHz base clock provide substantial compute throughput, with 21,760 shading units and 170 RT cores handling the game's lighting and shadow effects.

The RTX 5090 D achieves 104.8 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is complemented by 680 TMUs and 176 ROPs for texture and pixel processing. The 5 nm process node from TSMC allows for 92,200 million transistors packed into a 750 mm² die, resulting in a transistor density of 122.9M per mm². The GPU's 12 Ultimate DirectX support ensures compatibility with modern rendering techniques, while the 1.79 TB/s memory bandwidth provides ample data throughput for the game's streaming requirements.

In Passmark GPU tests, the RTX 5090 D scores 44,065 in G3D and 28,396 in compute, with 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 achieving 14,326. The Geekbench results show 310,674 in OpenCL and 376,915 in Vulkan, indicating strong compute performance. Despite these scores, the GPU's nearest rivals show that the RX 6650M XT is 1.1% faster on average, while the RX 6850M XT and Tesla P100 are 1.6% and 2.1% faster, respectively. This suggests that the RTX 5090 D's gaming performance in The Medium is more reliant on its driver optimizations and memory bandwidth than raw compute scores.

The GPU's 575W TDP and dual-slot design with a 16-pin power connector require a 950W power supply, which is a significant consideration for system builders. The 32 GB memory capacity is particularly beneficial for The Medium at 4K Ultra, where the game can utilize large texture caches without impacting frame rates.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the Medium preset offers the best balance between visual quality and performance across all resolutions. At 1080p, Medium delivers 144 FPS average with a minimum of 123 FPS, providing a smooth experience that exceeds the refresh rate of most monitors. The 1440p Medium preset achieves 122 FPS average with a 103 FPS minimum, which is ideal for high-refresh-rate displays in the 120-144 Hz range.

For users with 4K displays, the Medium preset at 3840x2160 delivers 95 FPS average with an 81 FPS minimum, making it the only settings tier that consistently maintains frame rates above 60 FPS at this resolution. The High preset at 4K drops to 68 FPS average, which is still playable but may experience dips in demanding scenes. The Ultra preset at 4K produces 54 FPS average, which falls below the 60 FPS threshold and is not recommended for smooth gameplay.

At 1080p, the High preset (103 FPS) offers a better visual experience than Medium while still maintaining triple-digit frame rates. The Ultra preset at 1080p (82 FPS) is viable for users prioritizing graphical fidelity, but the 58.2% frame rate drop from Low to Ultra may not justify the visual improvements. For 1440p, the High preset (87 FPS) strikes a good balance, but the Medium preset (122 FPS) provides a more comfortable margin above 60 FPS.

The data shows that the Low preset delivers exceptional frame rates (196 FPS at 1080p, 186 FPS at 1440p, 153 FPS at 4K) but sacrifices visual quality significantly. For most users, the Medium preset is the recommended starting point, with adjustments to High or Ultra based on personal preferences for frame rate versus fidelity. The system's 32 GB VRAM ensures that even Ultra settings do not cause memory-related stuttering, making the choice purely a matter of frame rate targets.